


walkin' on sunshine

by wanderseeing



Series: What is this? A love story for ANTS? [1]
Category: Ant-Man (2015), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Awkwardness, First Meetings, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Meet-Cute, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-16
Updated: 2015-08-16
Packaged: 2018-04-15 01:00:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4587024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wanderseeing/pseuds/wanderseeing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Somebody pinch Scott Lang, because he's got to be dreaming.</p><p>(AKA: Scott is brought in to be recruited to the Avengers and meets Tony Stark for the first time. There may or may not be heart-eyes all around.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	walkin' on sunshine

If Scott was going to be honest with himself, he still wasn’t sure how he got here. As in, 'within the Avengers Headquarters' here. And he wasn’t even doing anything remotely illegal this time!

Scott thinks about it for a moment and gulps. At least, he sure hopes he isn't doing anything illegal? It can’t be trespassing if they invited him inside, right?

“You’re kidding,” Scott says after a long pause, because seriously? _Seriously_? If they were actually serious he might just pass out from sheer excitement. And panic. Maybe mostly panic. Or possibly even both in equal amounts, because his luck just never fails to land him in the most spectacularly embarrassing situations.

Captain America— _the_ Captain America, oh god, no pressure there _whatsoever_ —just smiles kindly at him. “No,” the Captain says, sounding faintly amused. "No 'kidding' going on. Consider this your formal invitation to join the team, Mr. Lang.”

This is a dream. Scott’s dreaming. There could be no other possible explanation as to why this was happening to him. Hell, Hank himself could be in here explaining the situation using his specific scientific jargon, but Scott's an _engineer._  Engineering had nothing to do with interacting with superhero celebrities. Scott was literally incapable of dealing with this much star-dom in one day.

“Is this for real?” Scott blurts out before he can help himself, and hey, it’s not like it isn’t a legitimate question. Then he remembers who he’s speaking to and scrambles to find his manners. “No offense, uh, sir,” he tacks on, because being in Captain America’s presence makes him feel like he’s standing in front of his grandfather. (May he rest in peace, that angry, scowling man who gave Scott his first wrench. He whacked him with it first, to show Scott why wrenches should never be used to hit people, then proceeded to sic Scott on his beat-up truck to teach him how to fix it.)

Scott mentally kicks himself and sets a reminder to never compare Captain America to his grandfather ever again, or risk getting beaten up by the nicest man in the United States. If anyone could accidentally offend the paragon of good will and virtue, Scott would probably be up there within the top five. Hope’s been trying to teach him how to shut up when he needs to, but it's still a work in progress.

The Captain’s mouth twitches into a small smile (which is good, smiling is a good sign), but before he can reply, a voice cuts in from the doorway.

“You should probably ease up on the parade rest, Spangles. Ant-guy already sounds like he’s gonna book it, which is, you know, totally counter-productive to the whole ‘recruiting’ schtick you’re trying to go for.”

Scott startles when a warm hand claps him on the shoulder. He turns his head to see whose it is and—

Oh. _God._

Tony Stark— _actual_ Tony Stark, holy _shit_ —is standing next to him, a wide smirk on his face. It falters for a moment, his eyebrows shooting up as he gives Scott a double-take, and what? Was there something on his face? In his teeth? Scott hadn’t gotten ready this morning thinking he was going to be meeting any Avengers, much less _Tony Stark,_ so he probably looked like a nervous hobo right now. He was only about seventy percent sure his jeans didn't have grease stains somewhere on them.

T.I. said he worked the whole ‘dirty engineer’ image though, so Scott hoped he looked fine anyway.

They stare at each other a beat too long, and Scott would feel offended from the expression on Tony’s face if it weren’t for the beaming smile Tony immediately gives him as he reaches out a hand for Scott to shake.

“Hiya,” Tony says cheerily when they clasp hands, his impossibly brown eyes narrowing calculatingly as he looks Scott up and down.

“Uh,” Scott replies intelligently. He’s pretty sure his brain has fizzled out and died, which is extremely unfortunate, because he could really use it to make words right now.

Distantly, Scott thinks he should probably feel somewhat violated by the inspection he’s being given, because he’s pretty sure Tony’s almost _leering_ at him. Instead, he feels the tips of his ears begin to burn and his knees go a little weak. This was seriously not the time for his body to check out on him, because if Scott passed out in front of Falcon, Captain America _and_ Tony Stark, he was going to acquaint himself very closely with the nearest rock big enough to crawl under.

Well, he’d probably send Luis a smug text first, because Scott may be confused and excited half the time, but he was still pretty sure that Tony Stark was _checking him out_. A man should be allowed to brag about this kind of scrutiny.

“Why, _Popeye_ ,”Tony says after he lets go of Scott’s hand, which what? Had he been holding it this entire time? How long has it been? “You didn’t say anything about the newbie being cute. I’m a little hurt, I thought we were past keeping secrets from each other.”

 _Cute_?

Captain America rolled his eyes (like a _teenager_ —Cassie was going to love this!) and crossed his arms. “It isn’t exactly a requirement to join the team, Tony, and I’m not the expert on your personal tastes, either. I didn’t even know you had a type,” he says dryly. Then he tilts his head. “‘Popeye’, though? Really?”

Tony shrugs unapologetically. “Can of spinach turning a skinny guy into a big muscly man to save the day? I think it works. Also, I hear what you’re implying about my preferences and I’m very offended. Of _course_ I have a type,” Tony says.

“Let me guess,” Sam cuts in smugly. “Anything breathing.”

Tony gives him a dirty look. “Ha _ha_ , Rio, but no. I’m 100% human-sexual, thanks.” He shoots Scott a quick wink before flashing Sam a wicked grin. “But if you really wanted to know, my types tend to fall under the category ‘Can Take You Down In Less Than Ten Minutes’. Or would it be less than five, eh, Tweety?”

Scott tries not to grin at that, he really does, but he probably wasn’t doing a very good job of it, judging from the flat look Sam gives him. It’s not Scott’s fault it was true, so the ire feels little undeserved, but he mouths a ‘ _sorry_ ’ at Sam anyway, because that’s what nice people do.

Scott should also probably clarify some things before he implodes from all the waiting.

“Wait, so if I’m not dreaming, if none of you are joking and if I say yes to your offer, you’re actually going to let me join the Avengers? _The_ Avengers? _Me_? Just like that?”

Tony laughs. “Just like that,” he says, this time clapping both hands on Scott’s shoulders. Scott tries very hard not to think about the comfortable weight of their grip, because there were much more important things to focus on than his intense, forever-crush on certain genius-billionaires. Honestly, someone should give him an award for holding it together this long, considering how many years the engineer in Scott has been harboring an intellectual hard-on for the man’s brains. The fact that he’d built the Iron Man suits is already enough to make Scott feel—

Stop. Stop it _now_.

“We need more smart guys on the team, so yes, you. We definitely have room for an engineer in our little lab-club—there’s only so much trouble Bruce and I can get into by ourselves,” Tony says, shaking Scott gently like he was trying to emphasize his point but forgot his hands were still attached somewhere. Scott was not complaining about this small detail.

“The both of you are more than enough trouble,” Captain America tells Tony firmly, one eyebrow arched. He turns back to addressing Scott. “We brought you in because you can clearly fight,” he glances at Sam, the corner of his mouth twitching upwards as Sam scowled back, “and also because you _chose_ to fight.” He smiles again, and Scott kind of wants to melt into the floor. It was like staring into the damn sun. “When you were first approached by Dr. Pym, you had every reason to say no. I don’t know if he gave you an out or not, but saying no would have still been the least dangerous option for you.”

“But you didn’t,” Tony finishes, and he squeezes Scott’s shoulders before stepping away. Scott tries to pummel down the part of him that sincerely wishes those hands would come back and stay where they were, please and thank you. (He tucks his hands in his pockets anyway, just in case they tried to do something dumb like reach out and do it.)

“I… didn't actually have much of a choice at the time,” Scott says, panicking a little bit because Captain America and Tony Stark were looking at him like he was some kind of new hope and Scott was not _used_ to this kind of attention _._ He has an actual record. He used to steal things for a _living._

“Of course you did,” Captain America says. “Walking away would have been the easiest choice, but you chose to risk your life to keep others from getting hurt. It’s the kind of decision each member of this team makes every day, and it’s why we’re asking you if you want to be a part of something where that choice helps a lot more people.”

“You’re a good nut, ant-guy,” Tony says, nudging an elbow against Scott’s side, “and National Anthem’s got this thing about collecting good nuts. More of an obsession, really. We’ve been trying to curb it, but it clearly hasn’t been working.”

Scott might be crying a little bit on the inside.

“I don’t—I—can—can I think about it?” Scott stutters, because this is a lot to take in, and he seriously has a lot to consider. The first thing being Cassie, and what it would mean for their scheduled visits if he had to be on-call as a full-time Avenger. The second being Hank, who… doesn’t actually _like_ the Avengers. Or Starks. He’s mentioned really hating Starks several times now.

It’s kind of a problem, the more Scott dwells on it.

“Of course,” Captain America says. “Take your time. Feel free contact us when you’re sure.”

“In the _meantime_ ,” Tony exclaims gleefully, clapping his hands together, “how ‘bout we hit the labs, huh? I heard you like to get your hands into circuitry, and as someone with a bit of a metal-thing going on, I’ve got a lot of stuff you’ll probably lose your mind over. I’m talking as a mechanic to an engineer, here." Tony looks at Scott with a genuinely hopeful expression on his face. It was so different than how he normally looked on camera that Scott immediately had the feeling that Tony wasn't aware he was doing it. "What d’you say, Bug’s Life? You have time for some tinkering?”

The way he phrases the questions also makes Scott feel like he just got asked out on a date in genius-billionaire-speak, though he can't be entirely sure. Either way, he tries not to die on the spot as he nods eagerly. From the corner of his eye, the Captain sighs and shakes his head.

“What? Yeah! Of course! I—I mean—” Scott clears his throat and tries to sound less excited and more… _suave._ He gives Tony a nervous smile.

Tony’s eyes are warm as he smiles back and Scott is totally gone.

“That’d be really, really cool.”

_Nailed it._

**Author's Note:**

> all of the thanks to chloe for jump-starting this ship & getting me on board (not that it was very hard good lord).
> 
> FEEL FREE TO HOP ON BOARD THE TOTT SHIP BC WE'LL BE GOING PLACES.
> 
> this fic is p much post aou/ant-man & exists in a universe where the cw is not going to happen, bc tott is a happy ship and i don't want to taint it with civil war feelings rn.
> 
> I'M SO EXCITED ABT THIS SHIP THO CAN I JUST SAY.
> 
> (come follow me on twitter [@bootyvenger](https://twitter.com/bootyvenger) for tott rants, marvel, teen wolf + a butt load of other fandoms!
> 
> or alternatively, hit me up on [my tumblr](http://teaamhuman.tumblr.com) and send me prompts or what not bc this ship needs more fic ASAP.)
> 
>  
> 
> **EDIT!!! (May 10 16)**
> 
> So I've finally finished my first year as a Creative Writing student and now that summer's started, I finally have time to write fic again. But instead of starting with new stuff, I thought I'd go back over fics I've already written and see if I've learned anything so far by editing them. Hopefully, this fic is a bit better, but eh, there's always gonna be room for improvement.
> 
> THIS DINGY BOAT IS SMALL, BUT IT CONTINUES TO LIVE ON!


End file.
